


In Law

by Burgie



Category: Star Stable Online
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-12
Updated: 2018-02-12
Packaged: 2019-03-17 08:04:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13654887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: In which Carney is an asshole, and Alex nearly kills a man.





	In Law

Marley tried very hard not to sigh as he sat at the long table with his family. Courtney and Franz looked happy enough, as they always did, still in the honeymoon phase despite not being married yet. Marley was sure that when they got married, or even engaged, the celebratory feast would go on for days and have enough leftovers to feed a small nation. Unfortunately, this was not Courtney and Franz’ day. It was Marley’s.

Thinking back on it, Marley realised that calling his family together like this to meet his new girlfriend had been a monumentally stupid idea. Barney was fine, of course, and Courtney was just happy to have another girl around (though her often rather gruff mannerisms startled Marie). But Carney…

“So, this is your latest project?” Carney had said as soon as Marley had walked over to the table with his new girlfriend holding his large hand. Marie had even dressed nicely for the occasion, wearing a pale pink sundress that looked rather nice on her. Her hair was unbound, hanging down to her midback, and she’d even put on a touch of makeup, just some eyeliner, mascara, eyeshadow, and a touch of lipstick. She hadn’t bothered with blush or foundation, though.

“Yes,” Marley had said with a nod, already worrying about what his brother might say. “This is Marie, my girlfriend.” Marie had blushed at the title, as she always did. She said that it made her feel so young. Carney, pleasant as ever, had scoffed.

“You usually don’t sleep with your projects,” Carney had said. Marley had ignored the jibe, instead taking a seat at the table with his girlfriend. Alex had taken the seat on the other side of her mother, dressed in a nice tunic and leggings, which was really all that anyone could expect from her.

“Your brother’s a piece of work, isn’t he?” Alex had muttered, rubbing her mother’s upper arm while shooting the Summers brother a glare.

“It’s best to just ignore him,” Marley had said. Alex had rolled her eyes and reached for a bottle of wine.

The lunch itself had been nice, as any food cooked by the Summers family was. Franz had gone absolutely nuts over it, praising Courtney’s cooking and asking the brothers if they would please reconsider.

“Sorry, I’m always busy growing grain and plowing my fields,” said Barney.

“Plowing Steve’s fields, more like,” Carney had muttered into his glass of wine. Barney had ‘accidentally’ kicked him in the shin under the table, to which Marley had hidden a smirk behind his own wine glass.

“And what about you, Marley, would you perhaps like to expand on your culinary skills by coming to work at my fine establishment with your sister?” asked Franz. Carney snorted again, and Alex tensed. She was getting really sick of hearing that noise from him.

“Sorry, I like helping horses too much to change career paths now,” said Marley.

“And he’s a bit busy with the one that he’s currently screwing,” said Carney. “That no-good former druggie. But I guess she must be good in the sack, she probably sold herself for drugs or money before.”

Alex politely dabbed at her lips with a napkin, as Anne had taught her in the etiquette lessons that she’d had to attend in order to accompany her girlfriend to many dates. Then, pushing her chair back, she stood, walked around the table, and delivered a strong uppercut to Carney’s jaw. The abrasive brother cried out, grabbing his chin, and scowled at the Cloudmill daughter. Alex’s eyes were blazing.

“Be glad that wasn’t Soul Strike,” said Alex. “How dare you say such things about my mother.” A smart person would have quailed under Alex’s intense stare. But Carney was not a smart man. He just scoffed at her.

“I can say whatever I darn well please about your mother, girl,” said Carney. “I call it as I see it.”

“No, you don’t,” said Alex. “Because you only see what she was in the past. My mama hasn’t been a druggie for months now, and a prostitute for years. And yes, she did used to do that, because she had no other way to pay the bills.”

“Then she should have given up the drugs,” said Carney.

“Addiction is mental illness,” said Alex. “It’s not as easy as just giving up. She needed help, and she got it. Finally.”

“Oh, really?” said Carney, his eyes lighting up. Alex clenched her hands into fists.

“I’d think very, very carefully about my next words if I were you,” said Alex.

“You know, I seem to recall that something else was considered a mental illness for a very long time,” said Carney. A strong scent of ozone soaked the air, but Alex’s blue-white hair only floated around her face in a breeze that wasn’t there.

“Carney…” Marley warned, seeing the deadly look on Alex’s face.

“But now, we just have new mental illnesses,” said Carney. “Fake ones. Everything’s a mental illness these days.”

“Oh, praise Aideen,” Marley whispered as Alex moved away from his brother and the ozone went away.

“Never talk about my mother like that,” said Alex. “Ever. If I hear that you’ve said something to upset her, I will make you pay for it. Those little devices you love so much run on electricity, in case you’ve forgotten.”

Alex left the feast after that, saying that she needed to go for a ride to burn off some energy. Marley left not long after with Marie, noticing that his girlfriend looked distinctly uncomfortable.

“You don’t need to worry about my brother,” said Marley as he rode away on Valiant. Marie rode at his side on the light grey Arabian that she’d basically adopted.

“But he’s right,” said Marie, looking sadly down at her horse’s mane. “I did do all of those things, all in the name of getting money for bills. Which I spent on drugs. We didn’t have regular electricity until Alex was old enough to work.”

“But at least you had your family to help you,” said Marley. “Especially your daughter.”

“She’s always been there to help me,” said Marie with a sigh. “She never had to, though.”

“I disagree,” said Marley. “I’m of the belief that family should always love and support you, in whatever way they can. Even if that’s only getting some extra money to help pay the bills, or being an understanding ear or shoulder to lean on or cry on.”

“If only everyone viewed family like that,” said Marie. “The world needs more people like you.”

“It truly does,” said Marley. “Though, people like your daughter who stand up for what they believe is right are a very good addition to this world, too.” Marie chuckled.

“I don’t know how someone like me could produce someone as spunky as her, but I’m glad I did,” said Marie. “And a Soul Rider to boot. I just can’t help but feel…”

“No,” said Marley, taking her hand off of the reins. She was a confident enough rider that he could do that now. “Don’t think about the past, and what you could have done differently. Yes, you may feel terrible that Alex had to work to get you the money you needed, but that helped to shape her into the person that she is today. And you couldn’t have helped your addiction, not at that point.”

“I know,” said Marie with a sigh. “It’s just hard not to think like that.”

“Then focus on the future,” said Marley. “Focus on me, on us. On everything we’ve got planned.”

“You’re right,” said Marie with a shake of her head. “It’s stupid to focus on the past. I guess your brother just rattled me, that’s all.”

“Well, your daughter gave just as good,” said Marley with a chuckle. “Threatened by a demigoddess with lightning powers, he won’t be forgetting that in a hurry.” Marie laughed at the memory.

“If he’d said something homophobic, she would have killed him on the spot,” said Marie. “Or at least knocked him out. She’s extremely touchy about that.”

“It’s good to be passionate about something,” said Marley. “You find your passion, and you make it happen.” Oddly, Marie smirked and chuckled.

“And now you’re quoting songs,” said Marie. Marley looked puzzled, but Marie only leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. As harsh and abrasive as his brother could be, at least she had Marley to make her feel better afterwards, and Alex to stand up for her. Maybe someday, she’d love herself enough and have the courage to stand up for herself. But for now, this was enough.


End file.
